The German-Polish border. A tale of two cities

Date: 24/04/04

Getting back together is hard to do, especially at the German-Polish border

IF BERLIN was the focal point of German unification, Guben and Gubin are at the heart both of European Union enlargement and of German-Polish rapprochement. Almost nowhere else do Germans and Poles live so close to each other as in these twin cities on the River Neisse; almost nowhere else are leaders trying so hard to grow together. Yet though strong forces draw the cities together, much still drives them apart.

Guben and Gubin were once one city, known for its hats and its orchards. But in 1945 the allies settled on the Oder-Neisse line as the new western border of Poland, slicing through Guben. All Germans left the eastern part of the city, to be replaced by Poles, often refugees from eastern regions that became part of the Soviet Union. Although East Germany and Poland were Soviet satellites, the border remained closed, save for a few years in the 1970s. This explains why, even today, Guben and Gubin seem worlds apart. Guben, like most small German cities, boasts a centre that is tidy, deserted and dull. Gubin's centre is livelier, but still marked by wartime bombing.

The two city halls could hardly be more different. It is hard to miss the office of Guben's deputy mayor, Fred Mahro, despite the Kafkaesque corridors in this former hat factory. On the walls are charts of election results and holiday planners. Finding the office of Mr Mahro's Polish counterpart, Zenon Turowski, in a former manor house, takes some doing. Above his desk hangs nothing more than a Polish flag.

Over the past decade the two cities have done much to bridge differences. The results include a common sewage-treatment plant in Gubin, and a school in Guben where classes are taught in both German and Polish. Last October, the two councils decided to co-ordinate decision-making through an “inter-municipal working group”. But the members of the group, headed by Mr Mahro and Mr Turowski, have their work cut out. There are plans to reconnect the two city centres by moving Guben's station and developing an island in the Neisse. The group is thinking of pooling municipal services such as water and waste disposal, and even setting up a joint holding company.

Might Guben and Gubin become one again? They clearly need to co-operate, for they face similar challenges. Both have lost their economic base: Guben its chemical-fibre plant, Gubin its garrison. Unemployment is high: 26% on the German side, 34% on the Polish one. Because of this, people are moving away. Guben has lost more than a third of its population over the past decade. With 22,000 residents, it is no longer much bigger than Gubin. Both cities also struggle to balance their budgets.

Yet the two also have reasons to compete, for both investors and jobs. Here Guben has the edge. Thanks to public money, it has an industrial zone with state-of-the-art infrastructure. To one Italian shoemaker, this is reason enough for settling on the German side. But the firm wants to hire a quarter of its 80-strong workforce in Gubin, which has a tradition of shoemaking and plenty of cheap, skilled labour.

Personal contacts between the two cities are limited. Most people cross the Neisse only to shop; just a few visit friends and relatives. A third of Gubin residents speak some German, but only a tenth of those in Guben know any Polish. The Poles seem keener on unifying than the Germans, according to a study by Topos, a research firm. Some 84% of Gubin's population wants closer co-operation; 71% favour a merger. In Guben, the numbers are only 52% and 44% respectively. That may be why Gottfried Hain, long a driver of more co-operation, was not re-elected as Guben's mayor. Germans between the ages of 35 and 55 object most. They feel threatened by competition from Polish workers. That is understandable given salaries that are, on average, four times those across the river.

Unsurprisingly, people in both cities have wildly different expectations of EU enlargement. Almost half those in Gubin think it will boost the local economy. But about the same share in Guben worry that it will a have a negative impact.

Add in legal and institutional barriers (Germany is a federal state, Poland a centralised one, something that almost killed the sewage plant), and the road to a common future for the two cities looks bumpy. Yet if Guben and Gubin do not tackle problems together, they risk becoming economically still more marginal, according to one scenario developed by local leaders. And here is a possible lesson for EU enlargement: it could easily turn into a disappointment, especially near borders, if politicians fail to persuade voters that their future lies together.

Feature looks at Guben and Gubin, once a united city, now divided on either side of the Polish-German border.